"Rohit Sharma delivered a masterclass" - David Lloyd reviews Day 1 at Lord's
Former England cricketer turned commentator David Lloyd described Rohit Sharma’s innings of 83 on Day 1 of the Lord’s Test as a ‘masterclass’. Lloyd also gave England’s bowling 7 out of 10, stating there was nothing much to get excited about.
While KL Rahul hit a brilliant hundred and remained unbeaten on 127, Rohit Sharma was the dominant partner in the opening stand of 126. He hit 11 fours and a six in his innings before being cleaned up by a beauty from James Anderson. India ended the day in a strong position, at 276 for 3.
Reviewing Day 1 at Lord’s, Lloyd wrote in his column for the Daily Mail:
“KL Rahul hit a superb century while Rohit Sharma delivered a masterclass as India dominated day one at Lord's. Jimmy Anderson, passed fit to play, produced two excellent deliveries to remove Rohit and Cheteshwar Pujara, while Ollie Robinson provided a late boost with the wicket of Virat Kohli.”
“This was Rohit Sharma’s highest Test score outside India but together with KL Rahul he provided a masterclass of application, technique and awareness of where off-stump is,” he added.
On England’s bowling, the former cricketer opined that the hosts were clearly missing the injured Stuart Broad. He also questioned England’s decision to not have a short leg for fast bowlers. Lloyd further wrote in his column:
“I’d give England a seven out of 10 for their bowling performance. Nothing to really get excited about. Joe Root was missing Stuart Broad while Mark Wood wasn’t seen until after lunch. So England were bowling first, with the Lord’s slope and Jimmy Anderson fit in overcast conditions – and there was no short leg. It just seems to be an unfashionable position these days.”
Anderson was England’s best bowler of the day with figures of 2 for 52 from 20 overs.
Not anything I could have done about that: Rohit Sharma on his dismissal
Rohit Sharma admitted he was disappointed to miss out on what would have been a much-cherished hundred at Lord’s. The opener was done in by an excellent in-swinger from Anderson.
Speaking to the media at the end of the first day’s play, Rohit Sharma said:
"I wouldn't say the best (innings) but definitely the most challenging I have played. I felt really good, I was very happy. Unfortunate dismissal but not anything I could have done about that.”
On how he curbed his natural instincts to play the long innings, Rohit added:
"When the conditions are against you, you have to keep talking to yourself and cut down the unnecessary shots, especially with the new ball.Once you get the feel of the pitch then you can try and play some shots.”
Rohit Sharma was dismissed in the 30s in the WTC final as well as in the first innings in Nottingham before finally converting a start into a substantial score at Lord’s.